Chapter 46 The Dream of the Extraordinary Moment
I am Zhuang Cheng.
It has been more than four years since I awakened my superpowers, and I have reassessed my current level.
To evaluate one's own level, one must clarify the evaluation criteria. The concept of "superpower" is broad; if someone's superpower is "mind reading," it's not appropriate to use "how solid the material they can destroy" as a standard to judge their level. However, my superpower excels in destruction and combat, so here I will use the strength of the enemy I can contend with as hypothetical evaluation material.
Imagine—a massive, fully armed, and highly trained army from the era of cold weapons appears before me, determined to fight me to the death. I think whether this army numbers in the hundreds of thousands or millions, I would ultimately be victorious. Even if all the armies in the world were gathered together, I cannot imagine how I could possibly be defeated. This is due to the nature of my superpower; straightforward physical attacks would have no chance of harming me.
What if it were a modern army primarily armed with firearms? I still don't think I would be defeated. Bullets, shells, missiles, chemical weapons, biological weapons, and so on—none of those things would work on me. Even nuclear bombs couldn't kill me.
However, I've never actually been hit by a nuclear bomb, so I'm not entirely confident in sticking to this conclusion. Perhaps, as some science fiction stories suggest, the human soul is electromagnetic in nature, and a nuclear explosion can disrupt this electromagnetic field, thus destroying the soul, and so on.
Moreover, the wisdom of scientists should not be underestimated. Occasionally, monster movies feature seemingly flawless ultimate life forms whose weaknesses are discovered by human scientists. Sometimes I can't help but put myself in the monster's shoes, thinking that if I truly believed my superpowers were invincible, I might unexpectedly suffer a crushing defeat.
As for what would happen if I were to become an enemy of someone with superpowers other than myself, I honestly can't say. As mentioned before, there are just too many types of superpowers. What if an enemy were to attack my soul directly? How could I possibly defend myself?
I'm not a violent maniac whose mind is always on fighting, but in "adventures beyond reality," conflicts with others, even with one's own kind, must be planned in advance, and many fantasy stories have featured similar plots.
I think if there really were a superhuman with the ability to read minds, someone who could frequently read my mind might wonder why I always mention "fantasy stories".
Or rather, how exactly do I define "adventures beyond reality"?
I often make a clear distinction in my mind between "pursuing supernatural things" and "pursuing adventures beyond reality," because in my mind, "beyond reality" does not necessarily require "supernatural" elements.
Everyone's reality is different. People from thousands of years ago might have thought modern airplanes were surreal, a fool who knows nothing about science might have thought quantum mechanics was surreal, and people living in peaceful countries might find the chaos of war-torn countries different from their own experiences. What I consider "adventures beyond reality" are adventures that transcend my experience and life, unpredictable and incredible.
So not long ago, Mazao simply collapsed in front of me, covered in blood and carrying a real gun. Even though she hadn't shown any supernatural signs at the time, I couldn't resist taking her home.
Yes, adventures that transcend reality don't necessarily exist in fantasy stories; they certainly exist in the real world as well. War correspondents risking their lives to gather information in war-torn countries, explorers traversing mountains and jungles, mercenaries living on the edge of death, and even criminals disrupting social stability... Even without superpowers or supernatural beings, the real world still has many people experiencing absurd adventures.
Even in the battlefields of politics and business, there are generations of legends. Just because the reality I face is monotonous and dull doesn't mean that everyone in this world faces the same reality.
I actually understood this principle when I was fourteen, however...
I had a dream.
That was a dream I had not long before I awakened my superpowers. Of all the dreams I've had since I was a child, this one wasn't particularly special. I dreamt that I was standing in a long corridor, surrounded by gray concrete on all sides.
It looked like a corridor in an abandoned building, without even a light bulb, yet I was inexplicably able to see what was around me, like a character in a horror game. Only within that immediate vicinity; anything further was impossible. The corridor's entrance and exit were as dark as the mouth of an abyss.
A vague premonition arose in my heart as I walked forward. Before long, I found an iron door beside the corridor. I opened it, and inside was an empty room. In the center of the room was a wooden table and chairs; the chairs faced the door, and a person was sitting on them.
Perhaps because this was a dream, I couldn't describe the person's exact appearance or clothing; I only knew it was a man. After seeing him, my premonition grew even stronger. This strange person could grant my wishes.
Do you want power?
That's what that strange person asked me.
--strength?
I countered with a question.
—Yes, power.
—The power you've always dreamed of, the power of your imagination, and the power that matches the adventures you envision that transcend reality.
Strange people tempt me like devils.
I hope I can firmly reject him. Because I've already realized that adventures beyond reality don't need to be pursued in dreams.
The real world is full of wonders; all I need to do is abandon my fantasies, face reality, and strive to reach that place.
However, I must have been too weak back then...
More than four years later, I had the same dream again, and I found myself in that dark, dilapidated corridor.
I recognized this as a dream I had before, and I could even clearly recall every detail of my last conversation with the strange person. This time, however, there was no strange premonition to guide me. I walked down the corridor based on my memory and quickly found the iron gate from before, then opened it.
The old wooden table and chairs still stand alone in the room, but the strange man is no longer here.
I went into the room and casually closed the iron gate. Then I sat down at the wooden table and chairs and idly observed my surroundings.
A moment later, footsteps came from outside the door, approaching from afar.
Someone opened the door and came in.
He was a boy of about fourteen years old. He had a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar to me. His eyes were wary, his movements were tense, and he exuded an aura of rejection towards others.
He is me, another me, the me who has not yet grown up.
His gaze was fixed on me, as if silently urging me to hurry up and give my name.
Instead of introducing myself, I recalled my conversation with the strange man from years ago and then posed the question.
"—Do you want power?"
“Power?” he countered.
“Yes, power…” I deliberately used a seductive tone, “the power you’ve always dreamed of, the power of your fantasies, the power that matches the adventures you envision that transcend reality…”
Upon hearing this, he fell silent, seemingly caught in an internal struggle.
I stopped talking and silently waited for his answer, hoping that he would give a different answer than last time.
However, this time, I did not receive his reply.
For some reason, a hazy mist appeared inside the enclosed room.
The fog quickly thickened to the point where it was impossible to see the scene clearly. The familiar yet unfamiliar boy could no longer be seen, and even his own body could not be seen.
My vision gradually faded into darkness amidst layers of fog.
Until I opened my eyes and woke up from the dream.
-
A day has passed since the death of the true fallen witcher, Agent Kong.
Towards the end of the fight with Detective Kong, although I don't know why he suddenly broke down and yelled "Impossible, I don't admit it," he finally used an ingenious move, and I couldn't help but use a more powerful move to counterattack.
Calling it a "movement" is a bit of a stretch; I don't really have any particular technique for using force. I just concentrated a lot of flames together and blasted it out. The result was that I accidentally split the unfinished building in two, and the shockwave seemed to have shattered the windows of nearby buildings.
Such a huge commotion naturally attracted Zhu Shi, who was still dealing with the rooms on the fifteenth floor in the distance.
I could only tell her about Agent Kong's death and collect most of the shattered remains of his body from the explosion. Fortunately, they still retained the warmth of my flames, making them easier to find. Actually, this shouldn't have been caused by my attack. I deliberately held back against him; who could have predicted that he would self-destruct in mid-air after being thrown back? It's baffling from beginning to end.
It was bad enough that he self-destructed, but his body even reverted to human form. It was as if I, in a fit of rage, had murdered the innocent Detective Kong. At first, I didn't know how to explain this to Zhu Shi, so I could only tell the truth for now.
Fortunately, Zhu Shi didn't suspect me. She carefully examined the fragments of Detective Kong's body, and her focused gaze reminded me of when she judged that my superpowers didn't originate from demonic blood. After a while, she seemed to conclude that Detective Kong was indeed the Fallen Witcher. I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, she showed a shocked and indigestible attitude towards the rest of what I said.
"So... you shattered this building with your own hands. You can also transform your body into flames, and even if your head is severed, you won't be hurt. Even if Detective Kong attacked you from behind, you wouldn't be a problem at all..."
"That's right." I nodded. "Can I join Luoshan now?"
(End of this chapter)
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